standard for comparison is constantly refreshed with new games and higher detail settings. Overclocking Overclocking is used by enthusiasts to achieve component or system performance that exceeds the manufacturer's officially stated specification. Overclocking is a significant part of enthusiast culture, with popular and widely respected websites such as Anandtech and Tom's Hardware often including overclocking as part of a review. Hardware manufacturers release high-end components that facilitate overclocking. Examples include CPUs with unlocked multipliers, oversized heatsinks or water cooling, and motherboards with user-configurable voltages and incremental bus speeds. "Professional" overclockers commonly overclock only one core of processors, typically older AMD CPUs, to obtain CPU speeds well beyond the ability of the official configuration. Some system builders and part manufacturers now offer factory overclocking, which is covered under warranty. Alternatively a manufacturer or user may seek individual components that overclock, in order to buy a cheaper product that will prove to run to a higher quality product's standard. Risks There are significant hazards to be aware of when overclocking a computer. At a mundane level some components will not work under too high a demand, and the computer will not work until overclocking is reduced or disabled entirely. More seriously, some components may be damaged or destroyed by increased heat or voltages routinely caused by overclocking if the user is reckless or uninformed, and therefore caution and some level of prior understanding is needed. In particular, overclocked CPUs (central processing units) generally run hotter than normal, and components such as CPUs, memory controllers, graphics cards and RAM may require higher voltages to produce higher performance. The higher voltage results in increased heat and can stress the electrical channels of the components. This can cause damage, degradation, or critical failure. Benefits While most components usually see marginal or barely perceptible benefits, CPUs see much larger performance improvements, especially when using a high-end cooling solution. However, CPUs are also the most complex component to overclock, making it significantly harder for newcomers and beginners to achieve good results. GPUs (Graphics processing units) on the other hand, while able to be overclocked, rarely see significant performance gains, while results can be wildly inconsistent. "The Silicon lottery" is a term used by overclocking enthusiasts to describe components that turned out better during the manufacturing process, therefore making them more durable (less commonly, this can also be the case with CPUs), capable of handling the pressure of